Beyond the goal

Tim was a very gifted athlete. He was a high school standout in baseball, football, and track. Tim had been offered over 10 different scholarships from various universities (in both baseball and football) and when it finally came time for him to decide which sport he wanted to play, he choose to go the baseball route.

While playing college baseball, Tim worked extremely hard each and every day to get stronger, faster, and more fundamentally sound in his game. During that time, he had dedicated his life to achieving one goal - get drafted to play in the Major Leagues.

After a successful collegiate career, Tim was drafted 15th overall in the Major League Baseball draft. Along with being picked so high, he also received a $3 million signing bonus and a 4 year contract worth $7 million a year ($28 million over 4 years).

But, a funny thing happened after Tim reached the Major Leagues...

He somehow lost his drive. He still loved the game, but somehow he fell into a comfort zone (or false sense of security) and stopped training as hard as he once had. Tim was living a very comfortable lifestyle and had it in his mind that he could retire after re-signing for another 4 years. Tim had it all planned out. He would play 8 years in the major leagues and retire at the age of 30. By then he would have enough money to take care of any "troubles" for the rest of his life. He could relax on the beach, go jet skiing, go fishing, surf...do just about anything he wanted to do.

However, during the 3rd year into Tim's contract he suffered a shoulder injury. The team trainer told him that he needed to work hard to rehabilitate his shoulder in order to avoid re-injury. Unfortunately, Tim was never able to fully rehab his shoulder and ended up getting released from the team prior to starting his 4th season.

Tim never played professional baseball again.

* * *

In the story above it's obvious that Tim had a singular goal in mind - to play professional baseball. He prepared himself physically, mentally, fundamentally, and worked day and night to reach his goal. However, what happened after he got there?

Tim fell into a comfortable state of mind where he was living the glamorous life of a professional athlete. He had money and popularity...and most importantly...he had achieved his goal. For him, that was satisfying enough. However, Tim also had a choice. He had a choice to either continue to work hard or slack off. He had a choice to possibly put himself in a position where he could play the sport for many more years to come. He had a choice to adhere to the same level of standards and rigor that he had practiced during his high school and collegiate career.

Many of of us are in a similar situation...we have a great passion and desire to get "drafted" into God's kingdom. But, just as the Major League draft, it doesn't matter if you're drafted 1st or 100th. It only matters that you are picked and given an opportunity. (or "chosen" as it relates to scripture)

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Colossians 3:12

For professional athletes there is not a set of "black and white" criteria that must be met in order to play professionally. Professional athletes come in all shapes and sizes; however, one thing is certain - each had a desire to make it to the next level. We too, should live daily with a desire and passion to meet the criteria set out by God. Unlike professional sports, Christians have a criteria to adhere to. It's called The Word of God...the Bible, which tells us how we must to act. There is no question that it's the truth, because in many passages we hear things that directly go against modern culture...and for many people the commands are difficult to hear, (but not impossible to obey).

There are numerous citations written that prove that the bar is set really high to enter Heaven. The passage from Revelation 21 helps to re-emphasize this point very clearly...

Nothing impure will ever enter it (Heaven), nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Revelation 21:27

Let us never get too comfortable in our daily relationship with God, because Satan is always waiting for an opportunity to strike. If Tim's story tells us anything, its that we should never take our blessings for granted. So take some time and think about what you are going to do (next) once you reach a goal in your life...think about what you are going to do beyond the goal.

God bless you. And this is for His Glory!

The Tenth Percentile

Parents know that kids will say anything in order to get what they want. One example of an age old promise is when a child asks to get a dog for a pet. The child makes promises to walk the dog, clean up after it, feed it, let it sleep in their bed, etc. But we all know that when it comes down to it that the parents end up taking care of the dog. But that's okay...they're just kids.

Even as adults we think that we need certain things and even promise ourselves that if were to get it, that we would be grateful. Another example of this is when someone decides to buy a treadmill. Treadmills are bought with the best of intentions, but they usually end up turning into a coat rack within a few weeks. This is typical human behavior that we all experience. We yearn for something and once we get it, the elegance of it seems to quickly diminish. Either that, or we convince ourselves that it was never that great to begin with.

Let's take a look at a similar example of this from the Book of Luke.

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. ¹²As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance ¹³and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"

¹⁴When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.

¹⁵One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. ¹⁶He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

¹⁷Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" ¹⁹Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well.
Luke 17:11-19

Isn't it amazing how quickly the lepers forget about Jesus and went about their merry way?

All except for one. That's one out of ten. Only one returned to Jesus to thank Him. To put salt on the wound and make it worse, this was a Samaritan, a foreigner, whom at that time was looked down upon by the people around Jerusalem.

So, the next time that you really yearn for something and end up getting it...will you fall into the tenth percentile?

God bless you. And this if for His Glory.

10th Commandment

You decide to take a leisurely drive one evening. You feel adventurous and you go out to drive through a few towns that you've never really been to before. You enter into a nice neighborhood that slowly winds back further away from the heart of the town. It's not long before you start passing some very nice homes. Now these aren't your typical 3 bedroom, 2 story homes. You pass some lots that are a solid 2 acres deep with driveways anywhere from 50 to 150 yards long. The homes are just magnificent. Most of them are 7,000 plus square foot with at least 1 swimming pool and 4-5 car garages.

You can't help but to feel that little tug on your conscience. It's saying..."These are nice, I'd like to have one of these." In fact, the longer you drive down the road, the more you begin to do a self-evaluation. You begin to think about why you don't have the luck, brains, fame, or money to have something like this.

All of your inner thoughts are swirling because you are totally entranced by the enormity and beauty of these small mansions. You begin to think, "Wow, these people are really lucky, I wish that I could have something like this."

After you turn back toward home, you generally might have one of three reactions.

1) You are upset or depressed because you feel that you've been slighted
2) You feel thankful for the things that you have
3) It motivates you to work harder

For the purposes of this posting I'm going to focus on Option 1, as it correlates directly back to the 10th Commandment:

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. Exodus20:17

The word "covet" means - "to wish" or "to desire"

In a nutshell it is Envy.

The 10th commandment is arguably one of the most difficult to follow in the times we live in. Our entire world revolves around money and materialistic things. Somehow it's gotten to be the "in thing" to have nice cars, a big home, fancy clothes, or the newest tech gadget. All of these things might be nice in the eyes of men, but I'd ask how are they used to give glory to God?

I'm not saying that having any of these things is a bad thing. But, it's something that we must carefully manage so these things do not consume our lives and become our priority. There is not a single item that a person has that God doesn't allow them to possess. All of our possessions are 'on loan'. We don't own them, God does. And in the blink of an eye and by His Will, He can take them away or multiply them tenfold.

Let's try to remember to give thanks everyday for the things that God has blessed us with. I promise you there are so many people in a far worse situations.

To put things into perspective:

Approx 3-5 % of the worlds population have internet access. And only about 25% of the worlds population sleep in their own bed at night and only about 30% of the worlds population are rich enough to have a bank account.

Final Thoughts

In retrospect, the 10th Commandment is really the first stop on the "sin express". By the word "express" I mean that it will take you down quickly...and once you hop on board, don't expect to get off anytime soon. Envy will lead to greed. Greed could lead to lying, selfishness, or theft...and these could lead to far worse things.

The next time you are in a situation where you start to feel envious, stop for a moment to tell God about the top 2 or 3 things that you are most thankful for.

Let's remember to have patience and enjoy the gifts that God has given us. We never know how long He's going to allow us to keep these gifts, or when He will ultimately call us home to final judgment.

God bless you. And this is for His Glory!

Thought of the Day

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Mark 11:24

I believe that this verse is reminding us of a few things:

1) To pray - Prayer is our way to commune with God and without it we are like tiny island in the middle of a vast ocean. I believe that it is important for us to take time out during each and every day to pray. The Lord always hears us and knows what is best for us. We may not get everything we ask for, but that is okay…because it is all done for a reason. God has a plan and His will shall be done.

2) If we don’t ask God for something, it probably won’t be given to us. And yes, God knows all of our wants and desires, but I think that he wants to us to ask for it. It is through prayer that we ask God for our needs…and prayer allows us to form our own special relationship with Him.

3) Believing that all things are possible through God - For even in the most hopeless or dire of circumstances the will of the Lord can turn things around in an instant. But, we must believe and have faith that He can do all things. The Lord has no limitations and He never takes a day off from loving and watching over us. Therefore, we should not take one day off from being thankful for our gift of life.

Prayer for the day-

Dear Lord,
Thank you for the wonderful gifts that you have given to me. I pray that you continue to breath your breathe of blessings upon me and my family. I thank you for every beat of my heart and every breath from my lungs. I pray that you watch over me and keep me safe. Help me to walk down the narrow path and avoid the wide road of temptation. All praise, glory and honor to you forever.

Amen.

God bless you. And this is for His glory!